Discipline Answers

QUESTION: We use DWS at our school–a high-poverty, high-needs school, with many angry, disruptive, disrespectful students. As the social worker, I really like the philosophy that DWS espouses, but I do notice one problem. Students often see the “essay” as a punishment. It can become a power-struggle with some teachers. Do you have any suggestions [...]

QUESTION: I once had a grade 8 student who said, “It doesn’t matter what level I say I’m on, you’re always going to find a way to tell me that I’m on an unacceptable level.” I’m wondering what a teacher might say in response to something like that? A response from Tammy Shared on the [...]

Just like people, book characters often operate on more than one level! Very often, the author has at least one character learn something about the discouraging outcomes of operating at the lower levels. In many cases, the character is transformed in some way during the course of the story. Whenever I read such a book [...]

QUESTION: What do you do if you have a problem with a child on the second day of school, before you’ve introduced the Hierarchy levels? RESPONSE: Don’t forget that Step One of the Teaching Model is Classroom Management. By proactively teaching specific procedures for everything you want your students to do, you will be able [...]

QUESTION: Dr. Marshall says that we should teach students that in this system of discipline, operation on Levels A and B “automatically invites the use of authority” by the teacher. My students understand that continued operation on the lower levels will result in the use of authority. They see this as a good reason for [...]

Hooway for Wodney Rat by Helen Lester is a great read-aloud, especially if you like taking on different voices!! Camilla Capybara is a perfect character for introducing the concept of Level B of the DWS Hierarchy.  Once the kids have correctly identified Camilla’s level of operation, the illustrations really lend themselves to discussing the outcomes and [...]

QUESTION: What if a child trips and accidentally hurts another student? Is this Level A behavior according to the RRSystem of discipline? RESPONSE: When teaching the Hierarchy, it is important to ensure that students understand that with regard to Level A, we are discussing deliberate actions that result in damage or injury, not accidents. Accidents [...]

QUESTION: Today I began introducing the DwStress Hierarchy to my class. As we were discussing the four levels of behavior, one boy with emotional problems said, “I like Level A. I like to be on Level A. I don’t want to be on Level C or D.” This boy has had so much negative attention [...]

QUESTION: I have an ADHD student in my class who takes up at least a third of my time. I’m not sure if this would be part of the DwStress approach, but I have decided that from now on he will go to the In-School Discipline Room whenever he is disrupting my class. I feel [...]

QUESTION: I’ve just taken over in a classroom where the kids are used to freely talking. Today I kept them in from break because they were talking so much that we couldn’t get the work done. This made them really mad at me!  In this discipline system, how do I communicate to the students that [...]